Changes
by RaptorusMaximus
Summary: In the land of the Empire, a simple man learns not to assume knowledge of fate, and the true violence of the world he lives in.
_Just a short piece I wrote for my Writer's craft course. I hope you enjoy._

Changes

All I ever really wanted to do was serve my Emperor, and my nation, faithfully and with bravery. To prove myself worthy of standing before my lord, the mighty god Sigmar, and to be able to say proudly that I did my part, I helped my people, and I am proud of my service.

For the first twenty years of my life, I served Sigmar as a farmer, growing the wheat and corn on my family farm that went to feed the people, and more importantly the soldiers, of the Empire. Then, in my twenty-second year, when my farm was burned by goblin raiders, I took it as a sign from Sigmar to change my profession. So I took my savings and moved to the city of Nuln.

There, found work as a labourer in the great factories the city was renowned for, assembling the rifles and cannons our armies would use to defend from the likes of the vicious greenskins that had destroyed my farm, and the barbarian Norse raiders from the far north. I remained in Nuln for a little over two years, and still think fondly of the time I spent there, surrounded by some of the greatest achievements that Humans have yet achieved. However, it was not to last, and cuts to the workforce saw me without purpose once again.

My work at the factory left me with a sizeable amount of gold (and a well-crafted pistol, courtesy of my overseer and my own hard work), which I used to buy a failing inn along the highway that connected Nuln to the capital city of Altdorf and the lands of the Dwarves through Blackfire pass. For six years I ran that place, catering to merchants and priests, peasants and nobles, even the occasional dwarf come down from the mountains to do business with men. But the customers I most looked forward to were the soldiers, men of the empire, out on patrol or simply moving from one posting to another. They were always full of mirth and stories, of the battles they fought and the monsters they slew. I once even catered to a knight of the Order of the Blazing Sun. She probably gave us the biggest single tip the old place had ever received.

All in all, those were some of the best years of my life. I was well-fed, healthy, moderately wealthy, and most importantly happy. I was doing what I loved, and I was sure that I had found my place in life. I finally began to relax. I even began to take up bow hunting, both for recreation and to help provide for the Inn's stew-pots. I was so sure that I had found the destiny that Sigmar had set for me.

As time would soon show, I was wrong to assume knowledge of the Divine.

…

It was a good day. I had left in the early hours of the morning to hunt some waterfowl for the evening's stew at a nearby pond. My longbow was looped over my shoulder and my hunting knife was on my belt. On my hip was holstered the pistol I had received as a parting gift from my overseer all those years ago, carried as protection from bears, wolves, or the other, darker creatures that roamed the woodlands of the empire.

I had a productive few hours, as I tracked down and bagged a pair of geese and a small turkey that had arrived to drink at the pond. As I made my way back to the Inn through the woods, I caught the smell of smoke and fire on the wind. At first I thought that it was nothing, just a camp fire, or even just the fires at the inn.

It was when I saw the pillar of smoke rising above the trees that I knew something was wrong.

I broke into a run, dropping my hard-earned game as panic began to bubble up from the depths of my being. I pulled my bow from my back as I approached the clearing where my Inn was built.

I broke through the trees, and all I saw was fire.

The inn was a roaring inferno, entirely consumed by flames. The separate stables and barn were already gone, with nothing but ashes remaining, but the inn was still burning strong. My bow slid from nerveless fingers, and I slumped to my knees. I was in total shock. Before me was the work of seven years of my life, my labour of love, gone up in smoke, and burning before my eyes.

I'm not sure how long I stayed like that, just kneeling there, gazing into the flames as my mind tried to comprehend the loss I was experiencing. I likely wouldn't have moved from that spot for a long, long time if not for the crack of a twig behind me.

I turned my head to the sound and saw a pair of scared, pale faces poking out of the foliage. It was Audrey and Marcus, the children of my cook, and good friend, Jakob Sarkham. Somehow, they had escaped the fire and fled into the woods. I felt my heart begin to beat again, as this glimmer of hope emerged from the woods.

I got to my feet and turned to the children, who ran up to me and grabbed onto me fiercely, seeming to hold onto me for dear life. I responded in kind, wrapping my arms around them, clinging to the familiar in the face of tragedy.

"It's all right, it's ok." I said soothingly. "What happened? How did the fire start? Did anyone else get out?"

Marcus, who was ten at the time, said nothing, and just held on tighter, while Audrey, who was near sixteen, stepped back and wiped tears from her eyes, and tucked a loose strand of her light brown hair out of her face.

'Oh, Her Gervic, it was awful. After you left, Serah went out to get water for the morning cooking, and then we heard her scream. Klaus and that dwarven guest who arrived last night ran out to check on her, and then we heard cries, and fighting, and those... _monsters_ burst in, and papa shoved us through the cellar door, and...and…" She covered her face with her hands, and he body was wracked with a sob. Marcus turned away from me and walked up to his sister, embracing her as she wept. I simply stood there, still trying to process what Audrey had said.

 _Monsters? My inn...was attacked?_

"There was so much screaming." She whispered. "And then, the fire..."

I wasn't paying attention by this point. My mind was working, processing, and eventually, I had to ask. I bent down and retrieved my bow, drawing an arrow from my quiver.

"Children, what attacked the inn?"

They looked at me, then their eyes moved to something behind me, and their eyes widened in terror.

Marcus raised a shaky arm and pointed behind me. "Them."

I turned, and saw monsters emerging from the woods on the other side of the clearing.

There were a dozen of them, and each was subtly different from the others. All of them shared a general humanoid shape, with two arms, two legs, and a single head. Their torsos and arms resembled those of an extremely muscular man, but below the waist they had the legs of a goat, with cloven hooves and dark, coarse hair. Their heads were goat like as well, large, curling horns sprouting from their heads, and snouts full of sharp, jagged teeth. In their brutish hands they carried crudely formed weapons made of iron, cleavers, axes, and spears, as well as wooden shields. They were Beastmen, a degenerate race of monsters that had preyed on mankind since the dawn of time.

And now, they had preyed on me.

A cold, dark anger filled me at the sight of these beasts, the monsters that had ruined my life and slaughtered my friends, my family.

And by Sigmar, I would make them pay.

I raised my bow, pulling it to it's full forty pound draw, and drew a bead on the largest of the beastmen.

"Children," I whispered.

"Y-Yes, Her Gervic?" Audrey whispered back.

"Run to town. I'll deal with them."

They looked at each other, nodded, and then turned and fled into the woods.

With the children 'safe', I turned my attention back to the assembled beastmen. Incredibly, they had yet to notice me, as it seemed that the group was arguing about something in there brutal, bestial tongue.

I cared not what the beasts were discussing. I simply wanted them to pay.

I took a deep breath in, focused, and released my arrow.

The shaft flew through the air, whistling as it travelled towards its intended target, the largest beastman in the group. The creature cocked its head, as if it heard something.

Then the arrow slammed into the monster's throat.

The beast let out a gurgling cry as it fell, grasping futily at the shaft protruding from its neck. The other beastmen looked about in confusion for the source of the arrow, but by then I had already drawn and fired again, the second arrow striking a monster in the leg, sending it to its knees. The monsters noticed me then, and the horde turned towards me as another arrow impacted their ranks, this one taking a smaller creature in the gut, sending it screaming to the ground. The mutants charged, weapons held high and inhuman screams on their lips. I cared not, for my eyes were glazed with red, and I had vengeance on my heart.

As they crossed the clearing that used to house my home, my arrows dropped another of the creatures, this one taking an axe-wielding brute in the chest. By then, the creatures were too close for me to risk drawing another arrow. I may have been blinded by my rage, but I still wanted to take as many of the monsters down as I could.

To that end, I dropped my bow and, in a single fluid and practiced motion, drew my pistol from its holster at my hip and fired at the nearest beastmen. With an explosion of sound and a flash of light the charging monster was blasted from its feet by the force of the bullet. This seemed to falter the charging horde, giving me enough time to cock the hammer on the second barrel of my pistol and fire, near point blank, into the face of the foremost Gor, blowing off the side of it's head.

This seemed to enrage the next monster in line, as it barrelled into me bodily just as I ripped my hunting knife from its sheath. I crashed into the ground with the beast on top of me. It's breath was horrendous, smelling of rotten meat, but I could feel a wet warmth on my hand. I had stabbed the creature as we fell. But now, as I felt and saw the life leaving the monster that pinned me to the ground, I was helpless as the remaining horde closed in around me.

 _So it ends._ I thought. _I never thought that my life would end this way. But by Sigmar, I made the beasts pay for it. I hope that He approves._

The beasts gathered around me, leering down at me at their triumph, despite the fact I had single-handedly slain half their number. The largest among them pushed it's way through to me, and grinned evilly before raising its spiked maul to finish me off.

I closed my eyes and waited for the end. But Sigmar had a different fate in store for me.

I heard a thump and opened my eyes to see a black-fletched arrow sticking out of the eye socket of the creature above me. His fellows were frozen, and then a voice rang out.

"For Sigmar, CHARGE!"

A multitude of cries and shouts rang out as another force, this one made up of human soldiers, charged into the clearing. The beastmen were quickly overwhelmed, the last being cleaved nearly in two by the glowing blade of a knight, who wore the livery of the Order of the Blazing Sun.

I was still shocked by the intervention, and had yet to move when the knight walked over to me and spoke.

"Are you all right?"

"Oh! Yes, yes, I'm all right, thank you for the help, my lord." I stammered as I pushed the limp corpse of the Gor off of me and stood. I looked around and saw the soldiers, dressed in the black and yellow uniforms of Averland state troops, finishing off injured beastmen and cleaning their halberds and swords of their corrupted blood. A few men and women in the garb of foresters were checking the ground for the tracks of the herd, likely hoping to track their path.

I heard a chuckle behind me and turned to see the knight had removed her helmet, allowing her short blond hair to fall free and frame a round, noble face bespeckled with freckles. She was attractive, in a homely way, but also familiar.

"I am not a lord, good sir. But you are welcome for my aid. Although," she paused, looking at the fallen beastmen, "It seems that you had things rather well in hand before we arrived." She looked back at me. "I'm sorry, I haven't even introduced myself." he woman held out her hand. "Indrid Daybringer, Knight of the Blazing sun."

I took the outstretched hand and responded "Hans Gervic, former innkeeper."

Indrid's eyes widened with recognition, and flickered to the ruined buildings, then back to me. "I'm sorry. I wish we could have arrived sooner. I stayed here several years ago, and your people were very polite and kind."

 _Ah, that's where I recognized her from._ I thought.

Determination filled her eyes as she continued. "But I swear, we will track down all of the monsters responsible and we will make them pay for every life that they took." She paused, and looked me up and down. "You have skill as a fighter. Your help would be greatly appreciated."

I considered her offer. I wanted to go, to help rid the world of these monsters, and ensure that this wouldn't happen to anyone else. And, when I was fighting, killing, it felt...right, almost...divine, like it was something I was meant to do, that destroying this menace was a holy act that Sigmar approved of.

But...I could not leave the children. Audrey and Marcus, I had to find them, make sure they were safe. I…

"Dame Daybringer!"

I looked beyond the knight before me and saw a pair of state troopers emerge from the woods, carrying two broken bloodied bodies in their arms.

"No." I whispered. "Not them too."

Sorrow filled me, and then cleared. Now, gone was the last anchor to my old life. Like I had so many times before, I stood at the beginning of a new road that Sigmar had laid for me, a new way for me to help my fellow man, a new purpose.

And that purpose was death and war.

I turned to Daybringer, whose violet eyes were filled with pity. She must have seen the change in my eyes, for this pity cleared, to be replaced with a similar look of determination.

I spoke, three words that would seal my fate forever more as a servant of Sigmar, and an agent of His vengeance.

"Count me in."


End file.
